Earth Legend

by Florence Witkop

  All that time Cullen slept on my couch and it must have been uncomfortable because he was about a foot taller than it was long. He watched my plants with what I finally figured out was fear. "You don't like plants?" I tried to be tactful.

  He hunched forward to avoid touching a lovely carrot growing in a small glass of water. "I grew up mostly on space shuttles. Not many plants around." And a very small space most likely. Which was why he didn't like cramped places. In the following days I noticed that he came to a wary agreement with my plants. He didn't stomp on them and they ignored him. It worked to a degree. Eventually, about the time I felt comfortable and rested, we stared at one another across the breakfast table with nothing more that needed doing. It was time to face the future.

  I started the conversation. "I'm still a stowaway."

  "Yes." He coughed and looked away. Found himself staring at the floribunda rose bush and back quickly because he hadn't yet come to terms with something that existed mostly to be beautiful. Space shuttles are utilitarian vehicles. "You are a stowaway and that must be dealt with."

  "So what happens now?"

  He looked me straight in the eyes though I suspected it was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes were deeper, more noticeable and there were lines on either side of his mouth that I'd not seen before. "I wish I could say that everything will be all right but I won't lie. It's the Captain's call and no matter how severe your punishment is I won't be able to alter it. Furthermore it'll be my job to carry out your sentence." As he said those last words, he finally looked away. My future could be worse than even Cullen Vail was willing to admit. "But I don't have to bring your case to the Captain right away. I can put it off a while."

  Which made me feel worse than ever. What kind of person was the Captain? What would my punishment be?

  Chapter Nine

  I tell the Captain my story.

  I didn't sleep that night. I thought about escaping. I suspected that Cullen would pretend to be asleep if I slipped past his bulk on the couch, but I didn't even try. At first I didn't know why I stayed where I was, but as I thought about it, I knew.

  I was done hiding. Done running. Done being a felon. In some distant recess of my mind, I figured I'd done my best, I'd saved the Destiny, and if that wasn't good enough to warrant a light sentence, then neither the Captain nor the people on the Destiny deserved my continued work on their behalf.

  And they would need me again. Crops would fail again because they always do now and then and eventually the problem would once again be so severe that nothing would keep them alive if I wasn't around. If I escaped and hid, then I'd be there when that time came and I could save them. It's what my family has done for thousands of years. Hide and help.

  But I was alone. More to the point, I was tired and beyond caring. So I stayed where I was and we had croissants and coffee and sausage for breakfast as we'd done every morning since I left jail and Cullen kept his word and didn't immediately mention me to the Captain. So it was another week before word got to the Captain in a roundabout way that there was a stowaway on board who needed to be dealt with. With the plants healthy, he was no longer unapproachable.

  "I told him there was more to the story than just you stowing away. I suggested that you aren't the usual stowaway. I did my best." Cullen raked fingers through his hair. "I don't know if it helped but he does want to meet with you privately instead of on the bridge."

  "Thank you." I took a deep breath. "When? Where?"

  "Today. Now. In his private quarters."

  "That's a good sign, isn't it?"

  "I don't know."

  I followed Cullen into the Captain's quarters in the largest house in a small community just off the government center. I supposed they were the homes of officers and their families and Cullen said that was right. As we knocked on the door, I wasn't afraid. I couldn't figure out why not until I realized that I was resigned and past the point of caring.

  The Captain was in his living room in a huge easy chair that rather resembled a throne. He wasn't the grizzled old man I thought all captains must be. Instead, he was middle-aged though I suspected that his wife, who was hanging around pretending not to watch while she took everything in, was quite a bit younger.

  She was pretty, all brown hair and eyes and soft skin and lots of rings on her fingers and toes that showed through the skimpy sandals she wore. She looked like an artist and seemed like a nice person, not at all the kind who'd marry a grumpy old man. But I thought she might be the kind who'd fall in love with a dashing Captain and stand by his side as he guided a ship on a one-way journey through space. She smiled at me as we entered. The Captain didn't.

  Neither did he ignore us. In a bored way, he indicated that we sit so we did, on a couch, Cullen by my side, stiff and official and not touching me while the Captain leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.

  "So you're the stowaway." I nodded. "But Cullen here seems to think I should be lenient." He moved then and leaned towards me, bushy brows hiding sharp, intelligent eyes above a hawk-like nose and a sharp chin. "Can't figure out why, which is why I asked to see you here. Cullen is the epitome of law-abiding citizenry, the upholder of the law, the keeper of the peace." The Captain watched for my reaction but I was careful to give nothing away. "So when this paragon of legal virtue pleads for leniency on behalf of a felon of no particular value, I'm curious. Why does he speak up for you?

  "I know it's not love or even lust because our Cullen here would never let either get in the way of duty. He lives and breathes duty. So I want you to tell me what's going on. Why he thinks you are special." Still leaning forward he put his hands on his knees while his wife, in the background, moved closer in order to hear better. "So start talking."

  I told him about my family. "We go back a long way. Thousands of years."

  "So does everyone."

  "We trace our ancestors to ancient Greece and Rome."

  "Do tell." He was losing interest. I saw myself being sent out the airlock.

  "One of those ancestors was Ceres. Another was Demeter."

  Those bushy brows knitted until they touched over the bridge of his nose. "If I remember my mythology correctly, you are talking about the goddesses of the harvest."

  "You know your history."

  "Not history. Mythology because that's what Ceres and Demeter are. Myths. Legends."

  "They were real people." He snorted in disbelief but he didn't stop listening. He'd promised to hear me out and he would do so. "And what they did was real. When crops were failing, they stepped in and saved them. In the process, they saved the lives of everyone who depended on those crops."

  He sliced a hand through the air to shut me up. He knew where this was going and didn't like having been conned into listening to garbage. "Myths don't save lives. Legends don't save people."

  "Ceres and Demeter weren't legends and neither am I. They saved lives by protecting the crops all those years ago and I saved the people of the Destiny in the last several weeks by saving the crops that were dying."

  "Preposterous." From the corner of my eye I noticed the Captain's wife creep closer and at mention of Demeter and Ceres, those brown eyes opened wide. This was a juicy story and she would hear and remember every word. Did she and the wives of the other officers have tea in the houses we'd passed? Did they gossip as they sipped Chamomile with lemon and sugar?

  The Captain was the only person whose opinion was important, though, and he didn't believe me. No one ever did and just like everyone who'd heard our story he dismissed it out of hand as if I'd not said a word. "The botanists saved the crops. Our wonderfully talented and very pampered scientists figured out what was wrong and fixed it."

  Cullen coughed to get the Captain's attention. "The greenhouses are full of dead and dying plants."

  "Really?" The Captain's attention was diverted to Cullen for a moment, but only a moment. "Even if that's true it doesn't prove a thing. Of course they
would concern themselves with the harvest first. If that meant ignoring their experiments for a while, then that's what they'd do."

  His attention was fast fading and he was growing restless. Not so his wife but she knew better than to interrupt her husband. In one last desperate move, Cullen blurted out, "She can prove that what she says is true."

  The Captain turned back to me, still bored, still unbelieving. "Can you?" I nodded. "How?"

  Cullen put his hand on mine to quiet me so he could talk. He knew the Captain, he knew what would convince him. "She brought a sick tomato plant back to health in front of my eyes. It took less than a minute and I saw her do the same for every single crop on the Destiny."

  "I can't believe you expected me to listen to such a ridiculous story."

  Cullen looked around. "Do you have any sick plants?"

  "I do." The Captain's wife disappeared in another room and then reappeared soon after with an African violet. I knew by the way she held it that she liked growing things. That was good to know.

  But it was almost dead. There was no sign of a blossom and I knew that there hadn't been for a long time. What should have been lovely, soft greenery hung limply. It was well cared for and normally that would have been enough but now, on the Destiny, in the middle of deep space and in the strangeness of a space ship, it needed something more. It needed me and the special bond that my family has with green and growing things. To tell it that things were all right. To get it past the fear of the unknown. It had food and water but that hadn't been enough. Until now.

  I took the violet and closed my eyes. Then I did what I'd been trained to do, what I'd felt in me while a child and that had been honed by both my family and my education. But I did more. I did the exact opposite of what my family had taught me to do. I brought that African violet back to life and health in record time and I did it in front of an audience of non-believers. I did it because my freedom… possibly my very life… and the lives of the entire Destiny complement of people… depended on my doing so.

  When I opened my eyes, the violet was once more a beautiful accessory with several colorful blossoms that the Captain's wife put on a small table in a corner where it set off the whole room in the lovely way. Her private smile said she liked pretty things and enjoyed decorating her home. She was an artist.

  As her hands, with all those rings, left the violet she turned to her husband. "She did what she said she'd do." It was the first words she'd said. Her voice was low and husky and somehow lovely. And lonely though I couldn't know what she was lonely for.

  "That's one plant. Not much of a demonstration."

  Cullen rose and pulled me up too. "Come to the greenhouse. It's full of sick plants."

  It wasn't far and the botanists didn't appreciate an unannounced visit. But, as the head grower pointed out, though the plants in the greenhouse were still sickly, the rest of the crops on the Destiny were vibrant and so heavy with abundance that the workers were having a hard time keeping up.

  The Captain glanced at me. "How'd you guys do it? How'd you cure whatever was wrong?"

  The moment the head grower licked his lips and wrung his hands to give himself time to come up with a believable answer, the Captain knew they'd not saved the crops. I had. But one African violet wasn't enough, he needed more proof. "We're going to take a look around. None of you should come with us. I'm sure you have things to do. Plants to grow. Experiments to continue."

  The scientists weren't happy. They suggested we wait until they had the greenhouse back to normal before taking our tour. They told us we'd be disappointed because they'd been too busy outside the greenhouses to attend to the plants inside. They said all kinds of things and the more they said the less the Captain believed them.

  "I feel like taking a couple of my friends through the greenhouses and we're going now." The scientists melted away as he walked through them, pulling Cullen and me along. Soon we were back in the tomato house where Cullen once got his uniform wet and where he'd found a sickly plant for me to revive. The whole place looked awful. My heart sank as I surveyed the dead and dying plants. I could help some of them, but there was no help for most of them.

  The Captain stopped as he took in the state of the plants and sort of caught his breath. "Think you can do something?"

  At least he asked. He knew most were beyond help. "Some of them can be saved."

  He picked up a small plant that wasn't as bad as most. "This one?"

  "I think so."

  He handed it to me and folded his arms. "Okay. I'm waiting."

  It was a nice plant, one of several hybrids the scientists had been working on. As I closed my eyes and let my mind drift to that place I access when near green things I realized that they'd been on the right track. Given enough time they might have developed strains that would grow in deep space. But there hadn't been enough time.

  When I opened my eyes the plant was healthy again and there were several tiny, green tomatoes along the branches. The Captain took it back and turned it over and over, examining it closely. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed it."

  "This plant is a new kind. The scientists were doing their best and they were close. They would have figured it out eventually."

  "In time to save our lives?"

  "No."

  He put the tomato plant back and led the way to the other greenhouses. In each place, I brought one or more plants back to health. By the time we'd gone through every greenhouse and were finishing the circle that brought us back to the offices, the Captain was a believer. "Cullen was right. We need you."

  "I promise to do my best."

  Those grizzled eyebrows rose. "If?"

  "You let me go free." My lips were stiff, it was hard to speak but this was important.

  "Then you're free."

  For a long time I couldn't say a single word. Then I said simply, "Thank you."

  If we continued, we'd be back with the scientists in moments but the Captain held out an arm to stop us. "Free, but with conditions."

  "Such as?" Any conditions at all, I almost said, as long as they don't involve an airlock with me in it. But I kept my head about me and asked what the conditions were and tried to sound like I was negotiating terms when actually I was giving thanks.

  "You did stow away and that's a felony. There were mitigating circumstances, I admit, you do happen to have an essential ability… a trick… that we didn't know we needed. But we do. So I'm glad you're aboard and I acknowledge your importance to the continued health of the people under my charge.

  But you missed out on the usual background searches and psychological testing applicants were put through. You're an unknown quantity and that could be a problem, not to mention that all the colonists who did go through that rigorous screening might resent you just waltzing on board and they might not be as nice as I'm being right now. In fact, they might not be nice at all. I've heard the gossip. There are people on board who think those chosen as colonists are the best of the best and they aren't shy about saying so and I've seen fights break out over whose genes are the most superior.

  "So. I want to know where you are and what you're doing at all times and I'm charging Cullen with the task of keeping track of you and keeping you safe."

  Cullen nodded. "I'll get my best men on it. She'll have someone with her twenty-four seven."

  The Captain shook his head. "Not your best men. You. I want you to keep her safe."

  Cullen's mouth dropped open. "Me? Just me? Twenty-four seven? How can I manage that?"

  "That's your problem. Move her in with you. Move in with her. Do what you have to do. Drag her along whenever you go. Follow her everywhere. I don't care how you keep tabs on her, just so long as you do and you do it yourself. No one else will believe what we just saw so you're elected."

  "I have a job."

  "You're the most compulsively organized person I know. Security runs like clockwork, thanks to you. Which means that your presence isn't necessary."
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  Cullen had nothing to say except, "Yes sir."

  We were at the door to the main room. The scientists were beyond, awaiting our return. Their faces were anxious. I tugged at the Captain's sleeve. "If it's all right with you, Sir, I'd rather as few people as possible know about my … er … gift."

  "Why?" His huge head hung over mine and his eyes held the fierce gaze of an eagle.

  "Because whenever people find out about us, bad things happen."

  "Like witches being burned?"

  "And other things."

  He nodded. "I understand. It'll be our little secret." He thumped Cullen on the back. "You'll come up with some story as to why you're stuck to her like glue."

  Cullen wilted. "People will think we're having an affair."

  "Good idea. Simple and believable. In fact it's perfect. Everyone has been wondering about you. No social life, no girlfriend. There have been questions, believe me. Now those questions will be answered." He thumped him again. "Even if the answer is a lie."

  He examined me again. "You're not a bad-looking woman and you seem intelligent and I know you are educated." Up and down, head to toe, with that eagle eye. "So, now that I know your story, I'm wondering. Why go to all the trouble of stowing away? Why didn't you just apply to be a colonist?"

  I licked my lips and hoped my answer didn't send me out that airlock after all. "We tired. Lots of us applied but we were all turned down."

  "You look healthy to me."

  "Applicants were screened for genetic diseases and abnormalities. Our genes are unusual. Different. Abnormal. So our applications were refused."

  "And it's that abnormality that gives you your gift?"

  "Yes."

  He nodded that he understood and dropped his hand from the door that separated us from the scientists who were ready to pounce the instant they got me alone. He glared at Cullen. "I don't want anything to happen to this young lady. She's unique, one of a kind, and evidently we need her. So make sure everyone thinks you two are having an affair or whatever you decide will do the trick." Cullen's hand was on my arm, ready to propel me through the door the instant it opened. The Captain took a step back, examined the two of us and grimaced. "If an affair is to be your cover, Cullen, you'd best do more than touch this young lady as if she were an insect. You'd best work hard to convince everyone that the two of you are lovers. Give them a reason to accept her and make it good. If that's going to be your cover."